Brigade manages to keep himself in Loess, staying true to his word and his bargain, although his hold within the kingdom is tenuous. He doesn’t know where he wants to go and what he wants to do, but he knows that the longer he stays here, the more he feels the storm building in his chest. It manifests itself in strange ways. He grows more and more agitated, lashing out at those who deserve it the least and not feeling nearly as bad about the tears that he causes on their cheeks as he should.
Still, he made a deal and for all of his faults, his word is not completely worthless.
So despite the internal war he wages, he stays.
He stays and when the draconic King calls them together, even though he bristles, he still comes—eventually. His pace is slow and his handsome face carved from stone when he arrives near the back, only one ear cocked toward Castile and listening, his antlered head almost partially turned away.
It belies the interest that he actually has in the conversation.
For the most part, he remains still, impassive, and when the dragon talks about dealing with Tephra, he keeps himself held back, his lip pulling back slightly from his teeth, stormy eyes lighting. But the faint growl, entirely wolfish in nature, dies in the back of his throat and he forces himself to remain calm.
His attention is caught momentarily by the two women who speaks, finding that he recognizes the latter, but his gaze quickly returns to Castile. He composes himself, making sure that his voice is neutral. “If there’s a need of extra support in Sylva, I can go.” Not to lead—he certainly did not fit the bill of supremely loyal to Loess—but it would be good for him to get out of this self-made prison and into a new environment that did not reek quite so strongly of his own cowardice and his own failure.
Maybe he could find peace in the autumn kingdom. Maybe.
BRIGADE
when I was a man I thought it ended when I knew love's perfect ache
but my peace has always depended on all the ashes in my wake